The present invention relates to eyewear loupes for removable attachment to an eyewear which allows the user to selectively magnify images seen through the eyewear by pivoting the magnifying lens into the user""s field of vision.
Eyewear loupes for removable attachment to an eyewear frame have been known for a very long time. Eyewear loupes are useful for magnifying images using magnifying lenses which are carried by the loupe. In typical operation, the loupe is removably attached to the frame of the eyewear, with one or more magnifying lenses being pivotally movable about the loupe. As such, the user may selectively pivot the magnifying lens or lenses into and out of the user""s field of vision. The eyewear itself may be either prescriptive or piano such as safety glasses, for example. A problem with prior art loupes is the inability to attach the loupe to a wide variety of eyewear sizes and types. One prior art reference U.S. Pat. No. 2,796,803 teaches a clamping mechanism which can attach to two different sized temples, however, this limits the loupes"" adaptability in that it is thus limited to being able to fit only a relatively large or a relatively small temple size. The present invention provides an improved eyewear loupe as described below.
The present invention solves the above stated problem of prior art loupes by providing an eyewear loupe having an attachment assembly which is adapted to removably attach to an even wider variety of eyewear types. In particular, the loupe of the present invention includes a clamping mechanism which allows quick and easy removable attachment to an eyewear temple or adapter, whether the temple is of a large, medium or small cross-section. In one particularly useful embodiment, a shield adapter is provided which is attached to the shield of a shield-type eyewear (e.g., safety glasses) to which the clamping mechanism of the eyewear loupe removably attaches.